Here is today’s sustainability news, research and analysis for technology partners; renewable energy and green IT service providers; management consultants; CIOs; chief sustainability officers (CSOs) and c-suite members.
A. Sustainable Technology, Talent, Partnerships and Green IT Alliances
1. Call for Startups: The Innovandi Open Challenge 2024 is seeking applications from startups that address carbon capture use and storage, for low carbon cement and concrete. The challenge is run by the Global Cement and Concrete Association (GCCA).
2. Partnership - Building Energy Management: Verizon and BOSS Controls are partnering to improve building energy management in New York City.
3. Partnership - AWS and Energy Management Software: Quorum Software has achieved Amazon Web Services (AWS) Energy Competency Partner status.
4. Partnership - Professional Services and Software: Accounting and professional services firm Withum has partnered with ESG software provider Good.Lab to help midsize customers develop and meet their sustainability goals.
5. Partnership - Real Estate: LeaseLock and the Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark (GRESB) are collaborating to "improve actionable environmental, social and governance (ESG) efforts for the rental housing industry," the two organizations said.
6. Software - Architecture and Engineering: Symetri, part of Addnode Group, has launched Naviate Zero, an Autodesk Revit add-on. The add-on is a "specialized solution to enhance sustainability and energy efficiency for the architecture, engineering, construction, owner (AECO) and manufacturing industries."
7. Software - Scope 3 Support: IBM's Envizi software has gained a Supply Chain Intelligence module to help partners and customers calculate and report their Scope 3 emissions.
8. Software - Grid Management: GE Vernova has launched GridOS Data Fabric, a software platform that allows utilities to "operate a grid that is both smarter, as renewable energy scales, and more resilient, as extreme weather events increase," the company said. GE Vernova is expected to spin off as a standalone business in Q2 of 2023.
9. Research: Fully 97% of companies have adopted or plan to adopt sustainability initiatives, but 42% of organizations are just beginning the journey towards environmental responsibility, according to the 2023 State of IT Sustainability Report from OpenText and Dimensional Research.
10. Research - CSRD's Impact: Fully 61% of organizations now collect KPIs that are relevant to CSRD -- the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive, a PwC survey found.
11. AI Licensing: Social media platform Reddit has struck a deal with Google to make its content available for training the search engine giant's AI models, Reuters reported.
B. Sustainability M&A, Investments, Funding and Green IT Business Launches
1. Investment - Data Center Consulting: Goldman Sachs Alternatives has invested in Divcon Controls -- a systems integrator that offers facility management automation and monitoring solutions to data centers. Key focus areas include reducing the energy load that data centers require to operate. Financial terms of the investment were not disclosed.
2. M&A - Food Supply Chain Software: Ever.Ag has acquired Integrated Control & Information Systems and their Plant Energy product suite (rebranded as Ever.Ag Energy Manager). The software includes "advanced energy management and sustainability solutions in the dairy and distilling industries." Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
3. Complete M&A List: Here's our database of all M&A deals involving sustainability, green IT and renewable energy buyers, sellers and investors.
C. Regional and Global Sustainability Policies and News
1. United States -- Small Business Funding: The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced awards totaling $61 million for small businesses in 17 states. The 50 projects involve the "development of advanced scientific instruments, advanced materials, and clean energy conversion and storage technologies that will conduct climate research and advance the Biden-Harris Administration’s goal of a net-zero emissions economy," the DOE said.
2. Brazil - Oilfield Decarbonization: Petrobras -- Brazil's state-run oil company -- will deploy HISEP technology in an effort to reduce carbon emissions in oil fields. The $1.5 billion effort involves Shell, TotalEnergies, and several other companies, Reuters reported.
3. Saudi Arabia - Sustainable Manufacturing: Alat is creating a "world-class manufacturing hub in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia" and partnering with four companies -- Softbank Group, Carrier Corporation, Dahua Technology and Tahakom -- to move each company toward carbon zero manufacturing.
4. India - Software: KarbonWise, a startup in the sustainability sector, has launched a "technology platform to accelerate India’s Net Zero journey," the company said.
D. Sustainability and Green Technology Conference Calendar
- Distributech International 2024 Conference (February 26-29, Orlando, Florida)
- Sage Transform 2024 Conference (February 26-29, Las Vegas)
- Columbia University: SUMASA Annual Sustainability Symposium 2024Â (March 1, New York)
- UCONN Global Business Leadership in Sustainability Summit 2024 (March 1, Connecticut)
- Economist Impact Energy Transition Summit 2024 (March 4, London, United Kingdom)
- Complete Calendar of Sustainability Conferences
E. Previous Updates & Future News
- Did You Miss Yesterday's Daily Update?: Here is our previous sustainability, green IT and renewable energy news for technology partners.
- Future Updates: If you have news to share then please email me the details.
